Letters to the Editor: America's true heritage is the kind of dissent Trump is trying to hide
However, Arellano neglects to note the notable historical figures such as William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, Abraham Lincoln and Susan B. Anthony, along with a host of politicians, ministers and ordinary citizens, who saw through the euphemism and lies, especially those opposed to the Mexican-American War that was started by President Polk to take land from Mexico. There has always been dissent; there has always been a maligned minority called 'unpatriotic' and 'treasonous' because they dared to challenge presidents and the Supreme Court, especially when the court declared that Congress had no power to close slavery to the new territories.
This is the 'homeland heritage,' the history that the administration is trying to keep out of our schools and national parks. The whitewash continues.
Sidney Morrison, Los Angeles
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Boston Globe
8 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Trump's politically motivated sanctions against Brazil strain relations among old allies
Advertisement The message was clear earlier, when Trump described Bolsonaro's prosecution by Brazil's Supreme Court as a 'witch hunt' — using the same phrase he has employed for the numerous investigations he has faced since his first term. Bolsonaro faces charges of orchestrating a coup attempt to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. A conviction could come in the next few months. The U.S. has a long history of meddling with the affairs of Latin American governments, but Trump's latest moves are unprecedented, said Steven Levitsky, a political scientist at Harvard University. 'This is a personalistic government that is adopting policies according to Trump's whims,' Levitsky said. Bolsonaro's sons, he noted, have close connections to Trump's inner circle. The argument has been bolstered by parallels between Bolsonaro's prosecution and the attempted prosecution of Trump for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, which ended when he won his second term last November. Advertisement 'He's been convinced Bolsonaro is a kindred spirit suffering a similar witch hunt,' Levitsky said. Brazil's institutions hold firm against political pressure After Bolsonaro's defeat in 2022, Trump and his supporters echoed his baseless election fraud claims, treating him as a conservative icon and hosting him at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser, recently told Brazil's news website UOL that the U.S. would lift tariffs if Bolsonaro's prosecution were dropped. Meeting that demand, however, is impossible for several reasons. Brazilian officials have consistently emphasized that the judiciary is independent. The executive branch, which manages foreign relations, has no control over Supreme Court justices, who in turn have stated they won't yield to political pressure. On Monday, the court ordered that Bolsonaro be placed under house arrest for violating court orders by spreading messages on social media through his sons' accounts. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case against Bolsonaro, was sanctioned under the U.S. Magnitsky Act, which is supposed to target serious human rights offenders. De Moraes has argued that defendants were granted full due process and said he would ignore the sanctions and continue his work. 'The ask for Lula was undoable,' said Bruna Santos of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C., about dropping the charges against Bolsonaro. 'In the long run, you are leaving a scar on the relationship between the two largest democracies in the hemisphere.' 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That began to change last year when billionaire Elon Musk clashed with de Moraes over censorship on X and threatened to defy court orders by pulling its legal representative from Brazil. In response, de Moraes suspended the social media platform from operating in the country for a month and threatened operations of another Musk company, Starlink. In the end, Musk blinked. Advertisement Fábio de Sá e Silva, a professor of international and Brazilian studies at the University of Oklahoma, said Eduardo's influence became evident in May 2024, when he and other right-wing allies secured a hearing before the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. 'It revealed clear coordination between Bolsonaro supporters and sectors of the U.S. Republican Party,' he said. 'It's a strategy to pressure Brazilian democracy from the outside.' A last-minute tariff push yields some wins Brazil has a diplomatic tradition of maintaining a low-key presence in Washington, Stuenkel said. 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The group, led by Senator Nelsinho Trad, met with business leaders with ties to Brazil and nine U.S. senators — only one of them Republican, Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Advertisement 'We found views on Brazil were ideologically charged,' Trad told The AP. 'But we made an effort to present economic arguments.' While the delegation was in Washington, Trump signed the order imposing the 50% tariff. But there was relief: not all Brazilian imports would be hit. Exemptions included civil aircraft and parts, aluminum, tin, wood pulp, energy products and fertilizers. Trad believes Brazil's outreach may have helped soften the final terms. 'I think the path has to remain one of dialogue and reason so we can make progress on other fronts,' he said. Associated Press writer Mauricio Savarese in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.
The Hill
8 minutes ago
- The Hill
Toppled Confederate statue returning to DC
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The Hill
8 minutes ago
- The Hill
Schatz locks down votes to replace Durbin as whip
Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz (D) has locked down the votes he needs to replace Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) as Senate Democratic whip once Durbin retires from Congress at the end of next year, according to a person familiar with Schatz's support. Schatz, the Democratic chief deputy whip, has also earned the endorsement of Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) to succeed Durbin as whip in 2027. 'I'm grateful for the support from so many of my colleagues. I intend to continue earning their support in the months to come,' the Hawaii Democrat said in a statement. It would be the biggest change to the Senate Democratic leadership team since Schumer ascended to leader after the 2016 election. Durbin has served as Democratic whip since 2005, first under the leadership of Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), from 2005 to 2017, and then under Schumer from 2017 until today. Punchbowl News first reported that Schatz had collected enough votes and Schumer's support. Schatz, 52, formally launched his bid to become Democratic whip in April, telling The Washington Post at the time: 'Not everybody loves the aspects of politics that occurs on the floor. … This is where I think I can be most useful.' He assumed his Senate office in December of 2012, making him Hawaii's senior senator by a few days. He previously served as the Aloha State's lieutenant governor.
